The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk vin number

Hello all, I'm new to the Stovebolt trucks. I was lucky to buy two of them last week, I know one is a 1946 but the other is titled as a 1945, I found to body tag and the number is 21DPE1036.
21= Janesville, WI
DPE= May 1946
1036= 35th off the line
how could it be the 35th off the line and be built in May of 1946? or am I just all messed up?

Thanks

I believe the numbers reset to 1000 every month at each plant.

the line sequence numbers ran the whole year at each plant ... the "DP" is actually the model, a 1/2T, the E alone indicates May production

46 was controlled by the gubmint: "Chevrolet brought to market a full line (100 models on 9 wheelbases) of light-, medium- and heavy-duty trucks on May 1, 1946" .... it may be that, with parts being in limited supply, and the sequence numbers being specific to each plant, Janesville didn't start production until May

the 46 model year production had 2 groups, "interim" or early and the late series - 46 model production didn't start until early 46, and not at all plants at once - the late series was what we call the 47.1 or early 47


Bill

Numbering started at 1001. Therefore 1036 would have been 36th.

I really wish that everyone would stop calling the build tag #'s a VIN #, there were no VIN #'s Prior to the mid 1950's. Vehicle's were registered with either the build tag #'s and Letters or the engine serial # depending on the state. Some states even generated a small metal tag which was affixed to the vehicle at the time of registered.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_Identification_Number

1981 would be the date that the acronym VIN had a standardized meaning/location/format in the USA.

You'll get used to VIN being used here and being "flexibly" defined - you'll never get your wish regarding this peeve. By the way, I have seen titles from the same state, in the same mid-50s year, where the engine number was used on one truck and the tag/vehicle number used on another truck.

My goodness what would do without Wikipedia, heaven forbid we would have to read something. Maybe it's that I am getting OLD.

Kirk, regardless of the way you think of the information, I believe you'll find that any jurisdiction has a line on the title labeled "vehicle identification number", spelled out or abbreviated, capitalized or lower cased, and depending on the year of manufacture and year of title issuance, that identification number might be the original engine number, or what GM called a "vehicle number" in the era discussed [but you call "build tag #'s and Letters" for some reason, although GM called it a "serial number plate"], or the modern federal government defined "VIN" ... all good, we pretty much know what's being discussed whether it's called a vin, a VIN, or a serial number

Bill

the first question has been answered regarding his "Body Tag" information. and I think we all knew what he was asking, so I don't think that we/he was confused.




You are all right when it comes to defining what we have on our trucks, how's that for being confusing? Bill has it nailed, it's what the "Jurisdiction" accepts as the V.I.N. period! Many DMV'S are still looking for the serial numbers stamped on the frame, they can be clueless when dealing with trucks that are forty years older than they are.

BTW one of the reasons we tend to call the "Serial Identification Plate" a V.I.N. is that it's a Identification Plate on our vehicles and it immediately tells people what we are talking about when asking questions.

Why? It's a number that's used to identify a vehicle thereby making it a Vehicle Identification Number or a VIN. My title calls it a VIN so a VIN it is.

What? You still have to read wikipedia or is there a new app for instant knowledge downloads I haven't heard about?

I fully agree with you. VIN is government stuff, the serial number/ build tag or what ever is factory stuff. They were not forced to do it then, as is more obvious with the older trucks that had no plates.
Put it simply there was and is no VIN on a TF or older truck, well and yes none on any up to vin inception, that is unless some state put one on. And that would instantly make that truck worthless to a collector, parts only deal then.

actually you've got that a little garbled, as should be obvious from many posts above, there may be no "VIN" [as currently mandated by the gubmint] on older trucks, but there was definitely a vin on all vehicles GM produced [which got more complex with each series], and there is a line on any title document where you'll find whichever version of vehicle identification number is appropriate to the series year

Bill

For comparison, my '46 which was sold new to the city of Spokane (WA) is 21DPI7123 [Janesville/half ton/Sept/serial 7123]


sandra

Two points. I think Bill's explanation is good, during the WAR, WW2, vehicles were made for the armed services and very few released to civilians. "Controlled by Gubmint". You had to have a good reason for one: fire truck, Civil Defense, essential delivery, etc. Germany surrender early may 1945, Japan, early September 1945. They didn't get producing/selling for civilian again until 1946. I am guessing they did not sell like hot cakes right away until the boys came home and got jobs. Maybe that's why you have a low number, if that's a low number. Next: I know this is repeating what others have said but, let's agree that early trucks had identifying numbers in various places and with various names but now with us all getting modern titles, they are listed as VIN's. and a Kleenex is a facial tissue and a Phillips head screw is a cross recess, and a coke is anything. They are VIN's, it just stands for...now listen.....Vehicle Identification Number, which can be an engine number and serial number an assigned number a frame number, a number on a tag somewhere... A NUMBER, numeric or alpha/numeric. Most of us know they were called other names and if we want to tell someone that it's a tag or serial number for FYI, that's learn'in. But to demand we/they call it that, is a little harsh.

which makes the number 36 of the original question produced in May very reasonable, indicates a production at Janesville of about 12-1300 vehicles a month starting May 1

Bill